IRVINE Calif. Taco Bell will donate 15 percent of its gross sales April 23 to the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens, a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating the nation’s teen-dropout crisis and preparing young people for college, careers and life. The foundation hopes to double its annual giving goal and reach a $5 million total with the one-day fundraiser, which will support the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and its affiliated Keystone program. —
The Taco Bell Foundation for Teens is the largest donor to Boys & Girls Clubs of America and has given more than $23 million for teen programming since 1995. —
Bob Fulmer, executive director of the foundation, said working for the benefit of teenagers is a “bold choice” because, until recently, it was not publicized widely that so many American teens drop out of high school each year. —
“But the teen graduation crisis is important to us,” Fulmer said, “because teens are our employees, our customers and our kids.” —
According to Education Week, approximately 1.2 million students fail to graduate from high school every year, and more than half the dropouts are from minority groups. The Silent Epidemic Research Study found that more than 30 percent of teens in the United States and nearly 50 percent of Latinos and African-Americans fail to graduate with their class. —
“The dropout crisis is a responsibility we all share and one that seriously threatens the future of our country,” Fulmer said. “Through the support of Taco Bell employees, franchisees and customers, we are committed to bring money, awareness and volunteers to this cause so more teens have the foundation they need to succeed.” —
The foundation has rolled out several initiatives to entice consumers to visit Taco Bell April 23 and be a part of the fundraiser. —
Taco Bell will award four customers a $25,000 college scholarship in a weeklong sweepstakes carried out on the website
Public-service announcements will air on TV April 19-22, Fulmer said, and Taco Bell will support the fundraiser with in-store merchandising and a multiplatform online-advertising effort. The foundation has created an interactive application on Facebook that allows Taco Bell customers to join the “World’s Largest Year-book,” and the organization hopes to enlist at least 1 million “friends” in the effort, to represent the number of teens who drop out of school each year. —
In addition to the scholarship giveaway and the one-day donation, Taco Bell also will solicit donations from customers with point-of-sale collection canisters and will gather charitable gifts from employees, franchisees and corporate staff. —
“A visit to Taco Bell offers extraordinary value on April 23,” said Greg Creed, chief concept officer and president of Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Lousiville, Ky.-based Yum! Brands Inc. “It’s a way for all of us to respond to the more than 1 million teens who drop out of high school each year. We hope our customers will join us on that day and make their meals count toward ending this unacceptable crisis.” —
Proceeds will fund the Keystone program, which has more than 1,100 Keystone Clubs in the United States, where teens plan and participate in community-service projects. The foundation recently paid for Keystone Club members from New Orleans to travel to Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of President Barack Obama, who brought attention to the teen-dropout crisis in his Feb. 24 address to Congress, where he equated dropping out of high school to “not just quitting on yourself—it’s quitting on your country.” —